


True Heroes

by DemonicInformant



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel (Movies), The Amazing Spider-Man (Movies - Webb), X-Men (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Heroes, Inspiration?, Iron Man - Freeform, X-men - Freeform, spiderman - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-05
Updated: 2014-12-05
Packaged: 2018-02-28 05:33:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2720612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DemonicInformant/pseuds/DemonicInformant
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What makes a hero?</p>
            </blockquote>





	True Heroes

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing relating to X-Men/Wolverine, Spiderman, or Iron Man, though god I wish I did! But anyway, this is inspired by a combination of no sleep, loving everything about Marvel, MIX 94.7 having a live feed online (swoon~), my ownership of headphones that cancel noise (bigger swoon~) and finally just enjoying writing! Without any further ado...here's my little ficlet/piece!

What makes a  _hero_? Powers? A  _cool_  costume? A theme song? Some heroic feat they've overcome?   
  
What truly makes a  _hero_? What makes someone that a boy in a lonely house in the suburbs with no ambitions, with no hope for a life outside the yard he's chained to, can call on simply to help rid him of the monsters in his closet? What makes someone that _boy's_  hero? I ask you again...  
 _What makes a hero?_  
  
There are three great men out there that can be called heroes. Not because they have... _interesting_  powers, or millions of dollars, or even a sparkling personality that everyone seems to overlook, but because they are what that little boy sitting alone in his room looks forward to hearing about, to reading about, to seeing, to  _meeting_  one day.   
  
There are many people, many heroes, but of all those heroes, of all those spectacular men and women that we call heroes every waking moment, that we think of when we think  _superhero_ , there are three men that deserve to be thought of as such  _all_  the time. Even in the dreams of that little boy who lives alone, who has so much hope, so much strength, but hides it because there's nothing pushing him to show it off.  
  
Shall we begin?   
  


* * *

  
  
"What makes a hero? Stupid question.  _I'm_  a hero."  
  
"What makes you say that, Mr. Stark?"  
  
"I save people! I make the ladies swoon! I--"  
  
"So do firefighters, Mr. Stark. What makes you different from them?"  
  
"...I've got my suits. My reactor."  
  
"And they have their suits. They have their bravery. But  _you,_  Mr. Stark, what do you have that they don't?"  
  
"...I don't know. Why don't  _you_  tell  _me,_  kid?"  
  
"Mr. Stark, I'm not  _you_. I can't tell a story only  _you_  can."  
  


* * *

  
"Thank you so much for the chance to interview you, Mr. Howlett."  
  
"Logan. Get this over quick, bub. Mind if I smoke?"  
  
"Go right ahead. So, Mr--  _Logan_. What makes a hero?"  
  
" _Hero_? Kid, if you think I'm a hero, you're pretty fuckin' crazy."  
  
"You're a part of the X-Men! That sounds like a hero to me, Logan."  
  
"Whatever floats ya' boat. What makes a hero, huh? I dunno. Powers, some flashy suit."  
  
"Alright, let me rephrase... What makes  _you_  a hero, Logan?"  
  
" _Me?_  Alright, now you've gone bat-shit. I'm no hero."  
  
"I certainly think you are."  
  
"Yeah? Why's that?"  
  
"Because I know you, Logan. I know what you've done  _for_  people. You're a hero."  
  


* * *

  
  
"So! What makes a hero, huh? Pretty easy question... Uhm... Some big goal? Maybe something you need to fight for? Saving people! That's a  good one, right?"  
  
"Mr. Parker--"  
  
"Peter! Please, you don't have to be formal, really."  
  
" _Peter_. Let me...rephrase my question a little. What makes you a hero?"  
  
"...I'm not a hero... I'm just... Peter Parker! A regular kid. Are you uh...taping this?"  
  
"Not at all. Just a personal little interview. My own investigation, if you will. Mr. Parker, you  _are_  a hero. Whether you think so or not...you are certainly one hell of a hero."  
  
"...You know?"  
  
"I've known for quite some time. Since I was young, to be perfectly honest."  
  
"...Do I know you? You seem...oddly familiar."  
  


* * *

  
  
There are men and women that risk their lives day in and day out, there are those that seem to never have an off button, there are those that never seem to have an  _on_  button, and then...there are three men that deserve recognition, that deserve to know they are viewed as heroes, as those that are loved by people they've never met, that they may never meet, that they continue to inspire.  
  


* * *

  
  
"You've been there since I was young, Mr. Stark. I've seen you become who you are, become a hero, and I can assure you...you are nothing short of that title."  
  
"Look, kid, I don't--"  
  
"Remember me. It's fine. Neither did Mr. Parker, or Mr. Howlett. But I remember you three clear as day. As if it was yesterday."  
  
"...Kid, either you help me out, or I'm leavin', 'cause now you're starting to freak me out."  
  
"My name is Andrew Rayner, and when I was ten years old..."  
  


* * *

  
  
"My name is Andrew Rayner, and when I was eight years old..."  
  


* * *

  
  
"My name is Andrew Rayner, and when I was six years old..."  
  


* * *

  
  
"My mother was working as a stewardess in a plane. The door was blown open, and she was sucked out into the open air. There were thirteen of them scattered through the air, and she told me of a man in an iron suit, of  _you_ , Mr. Stark, of  _Iron Man_  saving her and landing her in that ocean, of saving her life. Mr. Stark, you saved my mother that day. I did calculations, I knew how many people you could have saved had you not thought on your feet that day, and you instead saved them all. Mr. Stark,  _Tony Stark_ , you are a true hero, and without you...my mother would not have survived that day."  
  


* * *

  
  
"I had been with my father one afternoon, and I'd been disobeying his every word. I had been climbing the building in construction not far from where we were, and I remember an explosion. I remember that building I had scaled going down, crumbling like a crushed leaf, and instead of dying that afternoon, instead of being crushed under that rubble, you saved my life. Mr. Howlett, I'm sure you do not remember something as small as that, and I'm sure you do not remember what you told me when you had pulled me from that rubble, before you handed me back to my father who was oh so worried and oh so upset, but I certainly remember every word.   
'Kid, I doubt you bein' a pancake would be pretty. Don't go off like that. Your dad could'a lost ya', and trust me, kid, you need him, got it? So next time you do stupid shit like that, I ain't helpin' ya'. Don't make me come back for ya', kid.'  
Harsh, sure... But Logan, if you had not gone out of your way simply to save me, I would have never had my father walk my wife down the aisle. I would have never seen him die, nor would I have been able to hear him say he was proud of his only son. You _are_  a hero. I wouldn't be here if it had not been for you."  
  


* * *

  
  
"You'd been gone for so long. For what seemed like years, and when I was sure you were never coming back, when I knew I was the only hope left, I confronted Rhino. And despite everything, despite how much I knew I had to lose, how badly I could be hurt, the risk of being killed... I remember what you said when you came down, when you finally came back to the city, when you finally returned to be a  _hero_.  
'You're the bravest kid I've ever seen.'  
Mr. Parker, I was only brave thanks to you. Thanks to a hero. I would never have stood up for myself had it not been for you, Peter."  
  


* * *

  
  
What makes a hero isn't fancy ropes and chains, a high powered suit and a bunch of money, a little bit of bravery and a pair of web shooters, or even a power and a big-bad attitude. What makes a hero is a story that no one else can compare to.   
  
What makes a hero is a loss like no other.   
What makes a hero is a goal no one else could achieve.   
What makes a hero is having someone, somewhere that knows they aren't alone.  
  
I know heroes. I know three heroes that never seem to see themselves as  anything more than just a bunch of matter and another addition to the population.  
  
I know Tony Stark.   
I know Logan Howlett.  
I know Peter Parker.  
  
I know Iron Man.  
I know Wolverine.  
I know Spiderman.  
  
I know heroes, and these men are the best examples I can ever hope to imagine.   
  
So I ask you again, what makes a hero?   
  
And before you answer, consider something.  
  
 _What makes you a hero?_


End file.
